Euro 2008 Introduction and Final Rosters for Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Sweden

Co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, Euro 2008 is just three weeks away. It’ll be kicked off by a Group A matchup on June 7 between the Swiss and the Czech Republic in Basel, followed up by Portugal-Turkey in Geneva.

The final 23-man rosters, of which three must be goalkeepers, for each nation aren’t required to be submitted until May 28, but a few coaches have already announced their respective squads. Others have announced a provisional roster and will have to trim it down by the 28th. If a player named to the final roster gets injured to the extent that he can’t take part in the competition before his country’s first match, he can be replaced.

Here at EPL Talk, I’ll be covering this tournament much like I did the African Cup of Nations in January and February, with daily recaps and previews of the upcoming action. Sure, England isn’t taking part this time around, but this is the world’s second-largest international competition and it would be ignorant of us to not give it its just due.

Starting next week, I’ll be taking a closer look at all 16 teams in the tournament — two per day for eight days — and then spend the first week of June examining some of the must-watch games and making my full predictions as to who will advance out of the group stage and who will win the whole thing. Keep checking this site as it’s your one stop shop for everything Euro 2008, including the final rosters for each nation.

8 Responses to Euro 2008 Introduction and Final Rosters for Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Sweden

Who is Portugal’s captain? Surely it has to be Ronaldo. Ronaldo has to be promoted to be a striker in his national team. Unlike Manchester United, there are Tevez, Rooney and Saha. But in Portugal, there is a lack of strikers. Though it’s true Ronaldo’s best postition is being the winger because only at that position can he fully use his speed and power.

What a strong squad Spain has! Surely Spain will win Euro 2008! But what a country really need is a STAR TEAM not A TEAM OF STARS! Portugal looks more and more like a star team but who knows. Without Luis Figo.. But there’s Cristiano!

I just have a small remark about Croatia’s team. You say Luka Modric plays for Dinamo Zagreb, but the truth is he is a new Tottenham star. He signed a huge contract just a couple of weeks ago. He is already the 4th Dinamo Zagreb’s player that went to English Premier League in the last 12 months. First Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth), then Eduardo (Arsenal) and Vedran Corluka (Manchester City) and now Modric. Great players with great skills. Croatia and England can be happy to enjoy their games… And Euro 2008!? Wow, that will be something specail!

Toni, Modric won’t officially join Spurs until after Euro 2008. There were a few players on that list who have agreed to join new teams, but they can’t yet because the transfer window isn’t open. That’s why I chose to list players like Bosingwa and Modric with the teams they belong to as of right now.

Ronaldo did captain Portugal through the qualifiers but again, he hasn’t been named the official captain at this point.